Chancellor’s Service Award
For more on how I made the audio and the video, click here
The Chancellor’s Service Award requires the recipient to have either contributed to the UCLA campus or the surrounding area. Well, the past year, due to the pandemic, I was not able to even get to campus without wearing a mask and social distancing, so I thought there goes my shot at receiving this reward that can put another honor cord on my body.
That is until I finished the video for the Political Science Commencement, “Hail to the Hills of Westwood”. The video was so good and well received (by the Polisci department and by all the people I have shown this to), I decided to pitch the video to the Chancellor’s Service Award committee. First, I wasn’t sure whether this video qualifies as a contribution to UCLA, so I emailed both the selecting committee and the Chancellor Gene Block, but no one replied (lol), so I just filed my application with this video.
Three weeks later, here I am, a recipient of the Chancellor’s Service Award. I guess the selecting committee is really into this video, and for that, I am forever grateful. Them granting this award to me reminds me of why I am doing YouTube videos in the first place. I love doing creative stuff, stuff that puts a smile on their faces when they’re surprised to see me everywhere in one frame of a video. I love everything about making creative stuff, and the selecting committee of this award reminds me of every bit of myself that wants to create. For this, I am forever grateful.
Redesigned Certificate
My friend Kim suggested me sending this redesigned version of the certificate to the Chancellor’s Service Award committee, but I feel that if I send it to them, they might think that I believe their design is not good enough. Instead, I will post it here, and they will contact me if they get to see this website, which I don’t think will ever happen.
To make sure everything is in the right place, I used a generic UCLA diploma I found online, and the original certificate as a guide in where to put stuff. Turns out, they really did save the empty space in the bottom for a seal, because if I put the diploma and their certificate together, the signatures and the empty hole aligns. They just never bothered to do so.
Love designing it.
Lyrics
Hail to the hills of Westwood,
To the mighty sea below;
Hail to our Alma Mater,
She will conquer every foe.
For we're loyal to the Southland,
Her honor we'll uphold.
We'll gladly give our hearts to thee',
To the blue and to the Gold.
Look from the hills of Westwood,
To the burning sun above;
The statue of our bruin,
Stands tall and bright and proud.
A hundred years of brilliance,
The pride that we shall hold.
We'll gladly give our hearts to thee',
To the blue and to the gold.
We'll gladly give our hearts to thee',
To the blue and to the gold.
My Application
What I am doing for UCLA might seem unconventional. After all, it is not a traditional volunteer service that an award's committee such as the Chancellor’s Service Award’s team is used to seeing. Being a transfer student, my time on campus was limited to two years. I had such great plans for these two years, for UCLA has been my dream school ever since middle school, where the kids ridiculed me for such an outlandish dream.
They were half right, however, since the two years of my stay on campus were horrifically cut short by the presence of COVID-19. In other words, yes, staying on campus is indeed an outlandish dream, because I only got to enjoy the thrill of being a Bruin for about four months. My goals and my aspirations were never realized because of the pandemic. I did conduct two university tours for prospective students during my short stay, but since it was only two times, I feel like that is not enough to be qualified for this specific award. The silver lining of this pandemic, however, is that it sharpened my musical talents while everyone was cooped up at home.
What I did, was not simply conducting physical proof of love to UCLA by leading tours for K12 or service the surrounding area. What I did, was a spiritual appreciation of the school that took me in, and accepted me for who I am. The most responsible thing, perhaps as a leader, is not to volunteer outdoors and not to conduct tours for vulnerable K12 students during these challenging times. The most responsible action is to stay home and be safe, for me, and for everyone else that I might have an encounter with if I truly did do the traditional sense of "service".
After all, this award is for students with great contributions to campus, and that contribution can only be manifested if that person has a genuine love for UCLA. What I created is just that. Yes, it might not be what this award's committee is used to see, but it is nevertheless a contribution to the prestige of UCLA, that a student of Political Science is able to make a one-man a cappella video for a school's Alma Mater in such a dazzling way.
If I simply found the sheet music online and sang it, I wouldn't dare to apply for this award. It is still a hard job, however, it lacks creativity and is not the level of appreciation that I have for UCLA and its community. Based on the sheet music of the a cappella version of this song, I was able to change some phrases of the music and added in my own harmonies that made it sound very much like gospel music. Also, since the original Alma Mater is very short, I wrote my own lyrics in appreciation of this campus and its 100 years of history. With these new additions, my rendition of our Alma Mater is nothing short of original.
I am willing to give UCLA the rights to my image for this video and audio, and the sheet music and lyrics as well. After all, I made this version of our Alma Mater in appreciation of UCLA, not just for fun. Since my original video is in 8k, my edited video or RAW video files can be used in the school's promotional videos for years to come. I will also provide the .wav format of the audio used in this video, so this too can be used for later production if necessary. This video took me more time to make than any of my other videos that are double or triple the length. In other words, I have never made a video this complex before, all for a more surprising visual representation. There are three layers to the video, and all three I will include with the RAW video files.
Truth be told, I never knew UCLA has an Alma Mater prior to making this video. All the friends that I have shown the audio sample to have also never heard of the song. The reason why I spent weeks working on this video and audio is precisely because of that. I hope more students get to know our Alma Mater and take pride in it as I do.
This is probably the last time that I will ever make this type of video. By rendering the 8k video (each rectangle is 4k), the video editing software crashed my computer countless times. What I learned, is to probably not mess with 8k videos unless I have the right hardware. Another lesson, even though it might sound cliché, is that even during this digital time, our love for our school can be materialized into beautiful compositions that represent what our school represents.
As the form factor of this video, I will never stop enjoying music and enjoying the process of creating music. Even though my future dictates me attending a law school, I will never give up music, as it is a lifelong treasure.
In essence, this video that I created is to show my appreciation of UCLA, and also promotes the school at the same time. UCLA is my Alma Mater, a fact that I will cherish for a lifetime. My life before high school was scarred by bullies that made fun of me at every turn, and yet, UCLA gave me a chance to prove to them who I am and what I am capable of, and I am walking away with Summa Cum Laude, which is something that I have never dreamed of. What UCLA has provided for me, is indeed what I will provide my Alma Mater. I don't have time left to contribute more to my dream school, but that doesn't stop me from helping fellow friends of mine who are yet to graduate to contribute to the campus and the surrounding area.
Since I am very involved in the Chinese Music Ensemble class directed by Professor Li, I will always come back and help whenever necessary, and teach students who are also interested in creating their own renditions of our Alma Mater.
If I am not selected for this award, it won't change anything at all. I am extremely proud of my life (albeit short) as a Bruin and continue whatever it is, whether it's optimism or creativity, that helped me get through this time of solitude and create something that is both fun and appreciative of what I have been given.